Accessible cruise to or from Australia AND accessible restroom on airline

[sueart46]

I am a fulltime wheelchair user and would like to cruise to or from Australia. I'm fairly familiar with the ships, but I'm looking for information about airlines with accessible bathrooms so I can fly one way to get on or off the cruise. I'm also interested in how accessible the shore excursions are. I appreciate any help.

[cjm66]

I am a fulltime wheelchair user and would like to cruise to or from Australia. I'm fairly familiar with the ships, but I'm looking for information about airlines with accessible bathrooms so I can fly one way to get on or off the cruise. I'm also interested in how accessible the shore excursions are. I appreciate any help.

 

Hi Sueart. There was a similar thread recently with some useful information, especially the review link in the last posting by rsquare, who was travelling with his wife who is in a wheelchair. Detailed and specific advice for NZ and OZ ports on their itinerary. I know that QANTAS have accessible toilets on some of their planes because they check if H will need this and an onboard wheelchair when we book. The bottom line is that with the usual lots of research ahead it is possible to find operators and plan tours for yourself while on the cruise and during pre and post cruise days in Sydney or Auckland. Few cruise ship tours will accommodate you with a wheelchair from our experience apart from the Taieri Gorge Railway trip in Dunedin. If you post a list of your ports when you know them or ask follow up questions you will get more specific answers. Cheers and enjoy your planning and the trip. Colleen

[sueart46]

Hi Coleen,

 

I haven't booked a cruise yet because I'm not sure I can make the flight. I'm looking for specific information about the restrooms on the plane. Are the toilets raised, are there grab bars, can a wheelchair and my husband both fit in it, etc.? Once I know I can manage the flight, then I'll do more research about the cruise. We have contacted several airlines for information about the accessible restrooms, but they do not reply. That's why I'm looking for first hand reports.

 

Thanks for whatever information you can supply.

[katisdale]

I have not flown to Australia (yet) but have found the Qantas website very informative. They do have an (one) accessible restroom on their transpacific flights. It appears to me from my review of the website that you must use the aisle chair to go to the restroom as a standard chair will not fit in the aisle. The aisle chair of course is much smaller than a standard chair. I do think the website gives an accurate picture of the plane.

[xxoocruiser]

Hi Coleen,

 

I haven't booked a cruise yet because I'm not sure I can make the flight. I'm looking for specific information about the restrooms on the plane. Are the toilets raised, are there grab bars, can a wheelchair and my husband both fit in it, etc.? Once I know I can manage the flight, then I'll do more research about the cruise. We have contacted several airlines for information about the accessible restrooms, but they do not reply. That's why I'm looking for first hand reports.

 

Thanks for whatever information you can supply.

 

You really need to contact each airline as there are no universal regulations requiring a plane to have an accessible washroom.

 

Regarding USA Airlines - USA Planes are not covered under ADA Law. Rather, Accessiblity of USA Air planes is governed and regulated under the Air Carrier Access Act (ACAA) which states that all twin aisle US aircrafts built after 1992 are required to have at least one accessible lavatory. The law further requires the accessible lavatory to include a door lock, an accessible call button and grab bars. There are no specifications about the height or placement of the grab bars or the toilet. In place of those specifications are performance standards.

 

 

In other words the regulations describe the access requirements in non-architectural terms. Instead of stating that the toilet shall be a certain height and there shall be a certain amount of space in the lavatory, the regulations merely state, “This lavatory shall permit a qualified individual with a disability to enter, maneuver within as necessary to use all lavatory facilities and leave, by means of the aircraft’s on-board wheelchair.”

 

Even if you are assured at the time of booking a flight that the aircraft has an accessible washrooms, airlines change out equipment all the time so you could actually get on board and find that the aircraft assigned to the route does not have an accessible washroom.

 

In reqards to foreign Airlines , though as previously stated that there's no universal requlations requiring all airlines have to have an accessible washroom, the carrier that does feature accessible washrooms on their newer double aisle aircraft is Singapore Airlines. But here again you have to check to make certain.

 

It should also be noted that regardless of the Airline, you generally will never find an accessible washroom on a single aisle aircraft.

[kitty9]

I have flown many international airlines, and have yet to find a fully accessible bathroom. I flew Quantas, first class, and not even those bathrooms had accessible bathrooms. This is the same for JAL, Cathay Pacific, China Air, Royal Nepal, Thai Airlines, Singapore and Dragon Air.

[klauer]

I can see how this would be a tough issue. I don't think I've been in an airplane restroom (even first class or business class international) that had room enough for a wheelchair and a second person.

[ozgeordielass]

Hi Sueart, My husband had his stroke in the UK over 5 years ago and was in hospital for 4 months, we flew back to Australia on Emerites airlines. We upgraded to business class so hubby could have more room, Emerites only had a small 2 wheeled wheelchair....hubby his 5ft 10 inches but had lost a lot of weight and was only about 76kilos.

 

Our son came over to help me bring him back, we had to lift my husband up out of his seat and turn him and get him onto the wheelchair...it had no arms and you had to tip it backwards on the two wheels and we pulled it backwards to the toilet. I had to sqeeze in the toilet to help my hubby as he is parlysed on right side and has apashia.

 

We had the first row near the toilets so did not have far to go but it was a nightmare for us with it being so soon after his stroke.

 

He can walk a few steps now and his speech is getting better, he still can't talk on the phone or have a conversation with anyone but we have been married over 51 years so I nearly always know what he wants and we don't get as frustrated as much.

 

Hope you can sort it out so you can fly and enjoy your cruise.

 

Cheers

ozgeordielass

[Chunky2219]

We're due to do an Australia/NewZealand cruise next year and I was doing a lot of the research yesterday. Sevral airlines now have reasonable accessible toilets but the ones I found, which included Air Singapore, plus one of the UAE carriers will be no use to you if you are coming from the US over the Pacific.

 

Here are some of the sites I found but I'm sure you will find similar if you get Googling.

http://www.apparelyzed.com/forums/topic/6058-wheelchair-accessible-toilets-on-airline/

http://toolkit.bootsnall.com/traveling-with-disabilities-guide/the-straight-poop-on-accessible-airline-toilets.html

 

I've already made the decision to travel business class which will make thingsa lot easier and I have the advantage of being able to walk a little, so toilet size and access is much more important to me than being able to get the aisle chair in and out.

 

I've spoken to several airlines' mobility help desks and they vary between very, very helpful and completely useless. Air New Zealand were one of the better ones and they have flights to Auckland from Los Angeles every day. Maybe not much use to you if you are looking just at Australia, but they do have a good service Auckland to Sydney which we might use on the way back.

 

As for what to do when you get there, it might be a good idea to start looking at some of the roll calls for similar cruises. Here's a few threads I'm following, some of which are disabled specific:

http://cruiseforums.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1390074

http://cruiseforums.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1575756

http://cruiseforums.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1615406

http://cruiseforums.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1650487

http://cruiseforums.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1650487

 

On one of the roll calls there is a very helpful Australian lady who has been finding out all sorts of information for people. I'm sure if you ask, she, or someone else will try to give you some pointers.

 

Enjoy Australia, it's a beautiful country.

.

.

[xxoocruiser]

Another thing that needs to be conveyed to the OP is that generally airlines attendents are not allowed to assist your husband transferring in and out of the accessible washroom. Or for that matter even assisting him getting to the washroom other than providing on board aisle wheelchair which most planes have. Generally the airlines will require you to provide your own on-board assistance even if that means bringing someone along with you to tend to your husbands needs.

[sueart46]

Thanks for all your help! Susan

[sleeka1]

I am a full-time Australian wheelchair user (paraplegic), and my wife and I enjoyed a Canada/Alaska holiday in May/June this year; we have also holidayed all over NZ on 3 occasions.

All of our flights have been with Air New Zealand, and I have nothing but praise for their help and assistance each time. However, no on-board aircraft toilet is anything like large....it will need the on-board aisle chair to access, and it would then be an extremely tight squeeze for a second person to be in there with you.

On our most recent flight, we travelled from Brisbane to Auckland, and then changed to the Auckland to LAX leg (and the same in reverse going home). Each aircraft was a Boeing 777....a twin-aisle aircraft with economy, premium economy, and first class seating. In economy, we used ANZ's new "Skycouch", http://www.airnewzealand.com.au/economy-skycouch which gives you all 3 window seats together which then convert to a flat bed by swinging up legrests from under the seats. This allows you to stretch out and sleep. On our return flight between Auckland and Brisbane, we were upgraded to Premium Economy http://www.airnewzealand.com.au/new-premium-economy which was even better!

Overall, though, we have found Air New Zealand ground and cabin staff to be really great and extremely helpful and courteous.

Try this website to search any airline's aircraft and cabin layouts http://www.seatguru.com/ It is really informative.

As far as accessibility for shore excursions in NZ, we have found that (with some research) NZ is fairly good for wheelchair accessibility. The official NZ Tourism site, and their i-site tourist assistance outlets in all major cities were very helpful when I was planning our trips there.

 

Hope that helps. Please ask if you need any more specific details for anything.